Girls in STEM
The Girls in STEM Conference is packed with hands-on workshops led by women in science, technology, engineering, and math professions. Workshops are organized by grade level (7th-12th).
More than 100 high school girls gathered at the Girls Leadership Conference at Henderson State University to learn about STEM careers.
STEM Girls Leadership Conference
Arkansas STEM Girls Leadership Conferences address the need to increase girls’ interest and engagement in STEM through innovative, nationally-recognized informal science education programs where risk is rewarded, curiosity is encouraged, and creativity is expected. The Arkansas Department of Career Education supports this programming through the Carl D. Perkins federal program.
To host these conferences, the Arkansas STEM Coalition distributes grants to 12 STEM Centers across the state. In three years, 77 conferences have been offered, with more than 6,400 girls in grades 7-12 attending.
STEM Girls – Black History Month
Girls learn in school and through our culture about men like Albert Einstein, Neil Armstrong, and Bill Gates, but not about women pioneers in STEM like Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Patricia Bath. Young women, especially Black girls, internalize the association between white men and STEM and fail to see themselves as fully capable of pursuing that professional path.
We believe that telling the stories of Black women’s historical contributions to STEM, and uplifting Black women currently thriving in those fields can make a world of difference in empowering a pipeline of girls to pursue the tech careers of the future. We hope you’ll follow us on our social media platforms all month long as we bring those stories to light.
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Conferences Held
Women in Cybersecurity
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Cyber Arena is teaming up with The Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub to host a Women in Cybersecurity event from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, to celebrate International Women’s Day. Participants can attend virtually or in person at the Hub- 204 E 4th St, North Little Rock, AR 72114.
The event will give girls a chance to learn what it’s like to choose a career in cybersecurity. The event, recommended for girls in sixth grade and older, will feature a panel of female mentors working in cybersecurity as well as several hands-on activities from women in the field.
Food will be provided for in-person attendees. Registration (whether in person or online) is required. Click here to register: Women in Cyber Security Registration
There is a PDF attached for you to send to your students, as well as png file for you to share to your social media.
Teachers: you are welcome to attend as well! If you are interested in joining virtually from your school with a group of students, we will have 2 different online activities the girls will rotate through, but there are also some great resources here https://www.ibm.org/initiatives/cyberday4girls that you could lead your students through during the activity time.
Agenda:
6:00 – 6:15 check-in and grab food
6:15 – 6:30 Keynote – Beth-Anne Bygum, CISSO Axiom
6:30 – 7:30 Activities
7:30 – 8:00 closing discussion panel.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
To read more about the International Day of Women and Girls in Science you can go to:
–https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day
– https://ualr.edu/news/2022/02/10/women-girls-science/
GIRLS WHO CODE
Prepare your students for the future of work.
Start a Girls Who Code club in your community!
Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in tech, has been reaching girls around the world and are have a mission to close the gender gap in new entry-level tech jobs by 2027. They have served over 300,000 girls through their in-person programming programs, and our 100 Clubs Pledge, a partnership with state and local leaders, school districts, community organizations, and industry to launch 100 new Girls Who Code Clubs, is one of several ways they have sought to reverse the decline. Together, we can prepare our daughters for tomorrow’s technology jobs.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT AT GIRLSWHOCODE.COM/CLUBS
Million Women Mentors
Million Women Mentors (MWM) supports the engagement of one million Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) mentors (male and female) to increase the interest and confidence of girls and women to persist and succeed in STEM programs and careers. MWM is an initiative of STEMconnector in collaboration with over 60+ partners reaching over 30 million girls and women, 45+ corporate sponsors, and 35+ state leadership teams.
Girl Power in STEM
Girl Power in STEM (GPS) is a unique opportunity for 8th grade girls in Arkansas to gain hands-on experience and learn about careers related to science, technology, engineering, and math. The event is hosted on the campus at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). Girls interact directly with current UCA students and female professionals (primarily from Arkansas) to develop a greater understanding of their own potential and power.
Girls of Promise®
Girls of Promise® is proven to encourage girls to continue pursuing higher-level science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses past eighth grade, with goals towards careers in these fields. Since 1999, more than 5,000 eighth-grade girls have been introduced to women with careers in STEM fields, participated in hands-on learning activities, and met other girls passionate about learning through their participation at Girls of Promise® conferences.
GLAMS
Area eighth-grade girls have an opportunity to take part in the GLAMS: Girls Learning About Math and Science conference each spring at South Arkansas Community College. GLAMS’ hands-on workshops and breakout sessions in science, technology, engineering and math fields are designed to provide participants with fun ways to learn practical information. The hope is that GLAMS will inspire eighth graders to carefully consider future courses and careers before high school as they become more familiar with science- and math-based professions.
For more information contact Dr. Stephanie Tully-Dartez at (870) 864-8413 or [email protected].
iWiTTS
iWiTTS (National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science) helps educators nationwide close the gender gap for women and girls in male-dominated careers, such as technology, the trades and law enforcement. They also have worked in-depth with law enforcement agencies and other employers to assist them with integrating women successfully into their workplaces.
iWiTTS offers research, training, and classroom tools that help technology and science educators increase the number of women and girls enrolled in their classes and retain them. iWiTTS offers many free resources for educators.
National Girls Collaborative Project
The National Girls Collaborative Project aims to bring together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Arkansas Discovery Network, a statewide initiative at the Museum of Discovery, has committed to bringing this national model to Arkansas by serving as the convening organization. The program will include a panel discussion of 3-5 strong female role models with stellar STEM credentials.